This video was quickly reposted by several UFO and conspiracy websites, asserting that the video is proof of an extraterrestrial craft landing in Iceland. But not everyone shares that conclusion. Many believe the video to be a hoax created by Bjarki Mikkelsen. His YouTube channel description does say he is a skywatcher who posts videos “about what happens to your sky and you. The information you DO NOT get in the news.” But as far as the object in this particular video goes, the witness isn’t claiming it to be an alien spacecraft.

The description he posted with the video states:

Sat on my chair and studied a live webcam on Iceland in the city Akureyri. I got the movie live at that time d 29 September 2013 and discovered a strange glowing ball falling from the sky. It’s not a helicopter or a plane, clear to see. I have had the opportunity to believe it is a kind of drone. The ball lands in a garden and you can see that it is as if there is a fire in a short time just after it landed or dropped. I do not know what it is but it looks quite interesting. Maby something climate experimental, military…

Aside from visiting aliens or a hoaxed video, a possible explanation for the mysterious light in this video is a rocket parachute flare. Notice how, in both of the following videos, this type of flare only illuminates once it has reached its peak altitude. These closely resemble the sudden appearance of the light in the UFO video:

One viewer who watched the Iceland video commented, “Actually the local﻿ police in﻿ Akureyri [have] investigated this matter and were able to confirm that this was indeed a shot from a flare gun.” But this claim is unconfirmed.